The Halloween store had simply sprung up one day a few blocks from her school and house. There had been no signs, no advertisements, or fliers. Had it not been for the other kids at school talking about it, Carly Beth had to wonder if she ever would have known about it.

Part of her had to wonder how it had taken her this long to come visit. While she had been busy with school, surely she could have come in sometime before the very day of Halloween arrived. It certainly could have prevented her mother from buying her a duck costume.

Not that it matters, Carly Beth reminded herself. Whether she had gotten the mask a few weeks before or mere minutes before it was time to trick-or-treat, all she needed was to have it in time to meet up with Chuck and Steve.

For a moment, Carly Beth stood in front of the store, staring into the windows. Masks and costume-clad mannequins stared back at her. There was a little bit of everything inside, from superhero costumes to horror movie characters. One of the costumed mannequins was of a boy in a green tunic and matching colored hat that flopped to the side of his head, and clutched tightly in his painted white hands was a foam sword. To both sides of him were children dressed as fairies, one yellow and the other purple. The other window displayed a tall adult mannequin wearing a grim reaper costume with a robe that went long past its "feet".

She grinned, her eyes momentarily meeting with her reflection. If anywhere was going to have the perfect Halloween mask to help prove that she wasn't a wimp, some little girl that could be pushed around by Chuck and Steve, then it was this place.

Hurriedly, she stepped inside.

The air was still inside, warmer than the chilly October outside, but still cold enough that she felt a few goosebumps rise on her arms. A bell rang when she entered, and once it stopped the room turned silent.

Slowly, she walked up and down each of the store's small aisles, surveying everything. While there were a number of costumes, nearly all of the items being sold were only masks. There was everything from animal masks, fierce tigers to sharp beaked falcons, to shapeless masks that barely resembled anything, let alone something scary.

"Welcome," a voice said. "Do you need help finding anything?"

Carly Beth turned, meeting eyes with an Asian man who had suddenly and silently appeared behind the small check out counter. He was tall and incredibly thin, with a sharp nose and toothy grin. The orange store lights made his hair glow an auburn color.

"Oh, nothing in particular," she replied. "I'm not exactly sure what I want to buy yet, but thank you for asking."

"Are you sure that you do not know what you are looking for?" His grin widened. "If you at least have an idea then perhaps I could help you."

She paused. "Well, I want something scary. I want something that will really frighten people."

"I'm sure that something here will please you." He stepped from behind the counter. Carly Beth could see him a bit more clearly. He wore a heavily purple outfit, from a long coat to loose pants to matching colored shoes. His hair moved as he walked, and though she saw his ears for a moment, they looked pointed.

Wow, Carly Beth thought, whatever that guy is supposed to be dressed up as, he looks amazing.

"Scary," the worker said. "There are a lot of different scary things, child. Do you have any other ideas? It might help narrow out our little search."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry, I can't think of anything else, sir."

"Well, then I suppose we'll just have to look until we find something right."

He walked closer to her and the two began to look through each aisle. For every mask that Carly Beth picked up, he had some sort of comment.

"That would certainly scare anyone," he said, pointing to a mask of a politician.

"Those fangs look rather realistic," he commented, gesturing towards a vampire mask.

There really was a mask for everything! Faces of celebrities, monsters, TV characters, even masks of things that she had never seen before!

"This is a keaton," the worker said as he held up a mask of what looked like a long-eared, yellow fox.

"Still unsure about what you would like to be?"

Carly Beth nodded. The two had finally ended their tour of the shop and looked at everything. "I'm sorry. There's just so much!"

"Feel free to weigh your options and to ask me any more questions if you need to," he responded. He turned and walked towards a door to one side. "I will be in my office if you have need of me."

She nodded. "Thank you," she called again.

Carly Beth began to look over the masks again. Her palms were sweaty and her heart beat rapidly against her chest.

There are too many to decide through, Carly Beth thought. She frowned.

Surely the vampire mask, with its extra sharp fangs and bright blood, would have gotten a shriek from Chuck if she were to sneak up on him. But a mask that hid her face completely might have been even freakier to Steve. What better way to scare him then to not even let him know who was trying to terrify him?

Leaning against a wall, she sighed. How had Sabrina so easily been able to decide on dressing up as a cat so quickly? Even if Carly Beth hadn't needed to be something scary, she still would have had a mountain of costume ideas to pick from!

It was only then that she noticed the door set off to the side, only open slightly. It was thicker than the owner's office door and made of darker wood. Slowly, Carly Beth stepped forward.

"KEEP OUT" the sign on the door read in large red letters. She stepped back but slowly walked forward again when she noticed what was inside.

The masks inside were nothing short of ghastly. From a purple, heart shaped mask covered in spikes to nothing but a black, circular mask with a beak at one end and a pointed hat at the top, everything was both weirder than anything that Carly Beth could ever imagine and so strange that they could not be anything but creepy.

She grinned when her eyes fell on what was surely the scariest one of all. Despite its pointed ears, green skin, and sharp yellow teeth, something about the mask set up in the very middle looked incredibly human.

"I have my mask," Carly Beth said, knocking on the door. "Thank you for helping me earlier."

The office door opened a few moments after. For a moment, the owner smiled, but it soon faded when he looked down to her hands.

"Were you in the back?" His voice had lost its former cheerfulness and he spoke much slower than he had before.

She nodded. "I know what the sign said but when I saw it I just knew-"

"Do not buy that!"

Even with her cash in one hand and mask in the other, she still held her hands up to her ears, blocking them with the backs of her fist. The plastic of the mask didn't feel rubbery, but cool to the touch, almost like human skin, especially when it rubbed against the side of her head.

"Please, sir, I'll give you all my money!" She held the wad of cash out. Her voice was almost as loud as his. "You have to understand, this is definitely going to scare Chuck and Steve! Everyone!" He probably didn't even realize what she was talking about. What were the chances that he had met those guys? Still, if there was any way to make him understand. "This is the scariest mask that I've ever seen!"

Quickly, she shoved the cash forward and then hurried across the store.

"Wait!" the owner cried. "You must understand that-"

She was out the door before she could hear anything else. Even when the door slammed behind her, Carly Beth still raced ahead, moving with a force and speed that she had never experienced before. If only her gym teacher had seen her!

It was only when she was home, standing in front of her porch, that she stopped. Her heart was beating frantically against her chest, moving so fast that she couldn't tell when it stopped. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath, and her face felt like it was on fire.

It was only when she relaxed that she looked down to the mask again.

Yes, she thought. This will most certainly do.

Tucking it below her shirt, she quickly scurried inside and ran past her mother to her room.

With a sigh, the salesman looked over his store. Traveling certainly had its perks, but there was something nice about staying in one place. He had only had the store for a few weeks but already it and the town felt like a worn pair of shoes, easy to slip into and enjoy.

Still, there were places beyond here that needed him. Wherever there was a chance for more masks to be made, and customers to sell them to, he would go.

Besides, it was not as if he had to leave yet. Tomorrow would come, and his store would be gone when the clock ushered the current day away.

Until then, he was sure that a certain customer from earlier would be back again. Turning to the window, he looked off into the sky, almost pitch black save for the steady white glow of the moon above.